Trump Pushes Back on ‘Apprentice’ Ties: I Will Devote ‘Zero Time’ to TV Show

President-elect Donald Trump hopped on his favored form of communication Saturday morning to distance himself from the program that helped cement his reality show stature.

After reports this week that he will remain an executive producer of NBC's "The Celebrity Apprentice" — even after he takes office next month — Trump tweeted that he will have "NOTHING to do with" the show.

He then name-dropped CNN, saying its reporting that he will be involved with the show part-time during his presidency are "rediculous [sic] & untrue - FAKE NEWS!" He later sent a corrected version of the same tweet.

Reports by @CNN that I will be working on The Apprentice during my Presidency, even part time, are ridiculous & untrue - FAKE NEWS!

But on CNN on Friday, Trump aide Kellyanne Conway suggested there's nothing unusual about presidents working on other projects outside of the White House.

"Presidents have a right to do things in their spare time," she said, adding about Trump's TV role: "If this is one of the approved activities, then perhaps he will consider staying on."

A Trump spokeswoman, along with MGM, the company that owns "The Apprentice" brand, have said that while the president-elect helped to conceive of the show, he is not expected to have a role in it when it returns to TV on Jan. 2.

NBC, the network on which the show airs, severed business ties with Trump in June 2015 over his "derogatory statements" about immigrants. NBC Entertainment has declined comment on this story.

Trump is being replaced as host of this star-studded edition by action star and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.